Welcome to Pay It Forward!

Hello, I’m Mary Kenney. Welcome to Pay It Forward! This is a blog about volunteerism, charity, philanthropy, and random acts of kindness performed by people and organizations in and around the Capital Region. The blog will also present information about volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, and benefits happening in our area. I encourage our readers to share their thoughts, stories, and knowledge about such people and events happening in and around our community.

I feel the need to add a disclaimer here. My “vision” for this blog is not some touchy-feely-rainbows-and-kittens blog that is so nice and sweet it makes you want to barf while reading. Nope, it’s intended to be about real, down-to-earth folks, doing some real, down-to-earth things for others.

Stories may run the gamut from a local company donating a portion of their profits or time, to someone paying the toll for the car behind them in the toll booth. (Yes, I’ve heard this actually happens!) There are some amazing people in our community doing some amazing things across a broad spectrum of giving. I truly hope that this blog will provoke your interest, thought, action, and interaction.

So what is “paying it forward?” The principle of “paying it forward” says that we should repay the good works done to us by the good works that we, in turn, do for others. Thus, it’s not a pay back, but a pay forward. My motivation for this blog comes from the guilt instilled in me after twelve years of Catholic schooling – just kidding! (Insert laughter here.) Seriously though, I am ever mindful of many things in my life – most importantly, my family, friends, and good health. I take none of these things for granted, and I am thankful for them every day.

But how does a person actually be thankful? For me, it means doing something. I started to do volunteer work in my early twenties, and I have continued to do so in various capacities up to the present as I approach 40. I’ve gained more valuable life lessons through these experiences than in any classroom or from any job that I have ever had. I find that when someone thanks me for helping out, it often strikes me as funny, because I always feel as though I am the one who has benefited from the experience.

My blogs are not intended to be about me, but I will from time to time share stories about my experiences as a Volunteer Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeastern New York, about my time volunteering at the Capital City Rescue Mission, and about a charitable group I’ve organized with some great friends called Grace & Cocktails. The Times Union has an impressive following of active blog readers that are interested in what’s happening in their community. I am so pleased that the Times Union has enthusiastically welcomed the Pay It Forward blog, and I am very excited about this opportunity to share with you some of the good stuff happening in the Capital Region!

Life is short. We all know this. So let’s appreciate what we have, stop whining about what we don’t, and every now and then, let’s try to do something for someone else. So, what have you done lately?